MKII Leon FR - black magic

[FinerDetails]

Welcome to the on-line Detailing Report of a brand new Leon FR in Black Magic Met paint, and less than 200 miles on the clock too.

Washing and Cleaning Preparation

The first task for me is to start to clean, and prepare the car for the Detailing work. As always, I begin by washing the wheels. I washed the wheels first to ensure that any splashes or dirt which may spray onto the bodywork and paintwork can be cleaned away afterwards. First I rinsed the wheels and wheel arches using a pressure washer. Next I used Pinnacle Wheel Gel to clean the wheels, before spraying the wheels and wheels arches with snowfoam in order to ensure they rinse to a streak free finish.

With the wheels clean, I now started the process of cleaning the paintwork and upper sections of the vehicle. The next task is to pre-soak the upper section with snowfoam. The aim of this is to loosen any surface dirt and dust, before using the pressure washer to rinse the vehicle. This first stage of the upper vehicle wash can in some cases clean the car to almost 98% without any contact. I then applied a second snowfoam layer to the car, and with a lambs wool washmitt and the Pinnacle Bucket with grit guard and dolly he works he way from top to bottom, around the car gently cleaning the upper car panels. All areas likely to carry the greatest amount of dirt and contamination will be cleaned last. This way the car will have the cleanest water, and least likelihood of any surface contamination becoming trapped and/or in contact with the paintwork again.

Once the vehicle has been thoroughly cleaned, I then used the pressure washer to rinse the snow foam away. Lastly rinsing part was an open hose to flood the panels and remove the most amount of water by sheeting.

Following a very thorough rinsing, I used a Cobra Guzzler Drying towel to pat, and drag the water from the car, coupled with some Quick Detailer due to the heat of the midday sun. The next two tasks of the detail are the final two of the washing and preparation, Firstly I applied a specialised automotive low tack masking tape to all plastics, rubbers and any areas which require protection from the machine polishing stage.

(pic below actually taken mid-machine polishing)



Once fully protected I then used a Digital Paint Depth gauge to check the paintwork on the vehicle, and records all readings on a Hand written Detail Report which will be presented with at the end of the Detail to the owner.

Paint correction
The first task for me is to establish the level of abrasion required to correct the paintwork to a safe and acceptable level. I always work with safety as the main directive. I will ‘test’ my way starting with the lest abrasive combination of machine foam pad and polish to find the pairing which will provide maximum paint correction coupled to minimum paint level removal. On this particular Detail I chose to use a Lake County CCS Pad, and Pinnacle Advanced Finishing polish. This polish was applied to the paintwork at 1100 rpm and worked to correct the paintwork.

The dealer installed minor swirling and holograms:





Protection preparation

Having corrected the paintwork I now start to prepare the paintwork for protection products. By fully preparing the paintwork prior to the application of a wax I ensure the results are maintained for longer, and provides better results.
On this Detail I applied Klasse All In One by Porter cable.

Protection and Dressings
I am able to offer a wide variety of Waxes/sealants to my customers. On this occasion two coats for Wolfgang Deep Gloss Sealant applied by porter cable and this was then layered with Collinite Marque D'Elegance 915 by foam pad.

Once the wax has been fully removed and buffed to a high quality shine I began to detail the other exterior features of the vehicle. I use sealants on the alloy wheels to protect from brake dust and dirt build up. I used Wolfgang Deep Gloss on this Detail. Next I used Stoner’s Invisble Glass cleaner and a specific Glass Micro Fibre Cloth to clean all of the exterior glass. I will then applied a dressing into the wheel arches, making sure the plastics are left with a finish which will not distract from the Paintwork’s shine and gloss. I then dresses the tyres, using Highstyle to leave a finish to compliment the paint colour. The next task is to clean and protect the exhaust pipe. Iain used Wolfgang Deep Gloss for this.

Once fully completed, and I have completed the final checks of the vehicle, making sure the Detail is complete I hand back the vehicle and discusses the Detail Report with the owner.
Below are a selection of the pictures taken following the work completed. Thank you for reading the on-line report.

[FinerDetails]

[FinerDetails]

[CleanYourCar]

lovely work Iain, those leons look so good once detailed.